August 4

Genesis 37.12-28

Now his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, ‘Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ So he said to him, ‘Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.’ So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

He came to Shechem, and a man found him wandering in the fields; the man asked him, ‘What are you seeking?’ ‘I am seeking my brothers,’ he said; ‘tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.’ The man said, ‘They have gone away, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ’ So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them at Dothan. They saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they conspired to kill him. They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him, and we shall see what will become of his dreams.’ But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, ‘Let us not take his life.’ Reuben said to them, ‘Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him’—that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves that he wore; and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.’ And his brothers agreed. When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

Today we continue our reading from yesterday.  We looked at the start of Joseph’s story.  The dysfunctional family he was part of. The hatred his brothers had for him because, he was Dad’s favorite child, and all the brothers knew it.   And then the dreams Joseph had that made it even worse with his brothers. 

This is really more of a Bible study again today.  So the brothers all head off to care for the flock of sheep the family owns. Jacob sends Joseph to Shechem.  I find it rather amazing that Jacob is so out of touch to his sons feelings toward Joseph.  He can’t see or doesn’t believe that they are really can’t envious of Joseph. 

In any case Joseph goes to Shechem, doesn’t find them, and then an unidentified man sends Joseph to Dothan – about 15 miles away from Shechem.  That’s a fairly good walk. 

The brothers see him coming, conspire to kill him.  But Reuben has a change of heart and convinces them to throw him into a pit without water.  And then when some Ishmaelites come along (those would descendants of Abraham and Hagar through their son Ishmael) he gets sold for 20 pieces of silver and sent off to Egypt.  Now the reading also mentions Midianites, and it seems a bit confusing as to if both Ishmaelites and Midianites come along.  If the Midianites pull him out of the well and the Ishmaelites sell him into slavery, or what exactly happens. 

This is the first of several literal and metaphorical descents (and ascents) Joseph will make in the story. He is lifted out of the pit, he is taken "down" to Egypt (39:1) and sold into slavery.

 Once in Egypt he is blessed by God, and he rises to a position of authority in Potiphar's house (39:2-4). Potiphar is an officer of the Pharoah. 

 Then he is falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, he is again cast down, this time into prison. Once again, God blesses him, and he rises to a position of authority (39:22-23).

Forgotten by Pharaoh's chief cupbearer after he correctly interprets his dream, Joseph seems fated to spend the rest of his life in prison (40:23). Then the cupbearer remembers, and Joseph is raised once again from the "pit" of prison to the highest position possible: he becomes the second in command in Egypt.  Secretary of Agriculture. 

 Meanwhile – we go back to Jacob – Joseph’s father.  Remember the meaning of his name?  Trickster.  Deceiver.  Joseph's brothers, meanwhile, have deceived their father. They have taken Joseph's special coat and dipped it in the blood of a slaughtered goat, then sent the coat to Jacob (37:31). Their father, of course, draws the obvious conclusion that Joseph is dead, killed by a wild animal.

 Jacob is deceived by his sons just as he deceived his own elderly father. What goes around comes around.  As we saw in the story of Jacob and Laban, Jacob's actions come back to haunt him. Yet, God continues to be at work in the lives of Jacob and his family.

Next Monday you will get the rest of that story. 

Let us pray:  The people we meet in Scripture Lord, are oh so human.  They too have clay feet.  They too know what it is like to live with people who irritate, annoy, and deceive them.  And yet you continue to be at work in their lives, even as you are in ours. And for that we give you thanks.  Amen.